We had a record cold March this year. I brood in a large cardboard box in my garage. The temperature in the garage fluctuates from 46 to 75 degrees daily. I usually use 2-100 watt light bulbs for heat, and mostly cover the top with a blanket to keep the heat in. in 1 week I go to 75 watt bulbs and 50 watt bulbs the next week. I usually have problems with too warm when it gets warm in the garage or when they get covered a little too much, and normally have some pasty butt and mortality due too temp fluctuations. I start the wood burner in the garage before I go to bed and it gets to 75. When I wake it is 46. I bought some Inkbird ITC-306T plug and play temperature controllers on E-Bay. 25-29 bucks ea. 1 of the heat lights is controlled by the controller and the other stays on all the time. It solved the over heat problem. I set it at 97 the first week and decreased 5 degrees every week. I also downsized the bulbs the first couple weeks, then raised the bulbs the 3rd week and moved them to the hen house the 4th. In the Hen house I have 2-125 watt heat lamps, 2 feet high. I put 1 of these on a thermostat, set to 70 degrees. No issues, no mortality, 45 healthy chicks. An amazing improvement. My safeguard against getting the box too warm has worked. I hang the temp probe right between the 2 heating lights, If you are not having a problem definitely don't change. If you are having temperature spike problems, a controller on half of your heat source, will help! I have 170 eggs in the incubator due to hatch in 3 days, and will definitely be keeping the temperature from spiking with the controllers.
